The Best Friend Code
by TheSoundofMusic
Summary: There is an unwritten code among the league of best friends; and Howl and Kiki have a story behind every one of these rules. A mischievous, fun-loving wizard in training and a bright, optimistic young witch meet with adventure as they struggle along the road of friendship together, learning from each other in the way only best friends can.
1. Rule 1

**A/N: I don't own these characters. Trust me, if I owned Howl than I wouldn't be writing Fanfiction about him :P**

**Anyways, it's important to let you as a reader know that every story is set in a different time. Example; this first story is when Kiki's getting ready to leave. The next story will be about an adventure she has a few years prior to being thirteen. No specific times, but generally they'll all be from before Kiki leaves. **

**I have to thank the wonderful *Kadeart0 on deviantart for providing the lovely picture which inspired me to write these in the first place! :) **

**So, I hope you enjoy my attempts at this! Thanks for reading! :)**

* * *

_**Rule Number One- A best friend is there for you, even when you're messy and look like crap**_

As Kiki frantically threw things around her room, her short hair frizzy and wild, she called to Jiji, "Do I have enough money?"

With a laugh, the little black cat flicked his tail and licked his paw casually as he said, "If you want to live on the streets, yes, we have just enough money to survive a few days."

Frowning, Kiki stomped her foot and complained, "Jiji! This involves you too you know, so seriously, do we have enough to get by until I can find a nice town to settle in and start training?"

Her cat rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to reply when he found it zipped shut. As Jiji frantically scratched at his mouth and fell off the bed, raucous laughter came from Kiki's bedroom door. The witch turned to see her best friend, Howl Jenkins laughing hard and holding his sides as he watched Jiji's panicked movements at having his mouth sewn shut.

"Howl!" Kiki cried, "What are you doing to Jiji?"

With another laugh, Howl waved at her saying, "Calm down, calm down! It doesn't hurt him or anything, it just shuts the sarcastic little twit up." When Kiki made a face and put her hands on her hips as a warning sign, Howl sighed before flicking his index finger at Jiji, giving the cat back his voice.

Jiji hissed before leaping up and out the window, causing Howl to smirk as he carefully picked his way through Kiki's messy room before settling on a free spot near her bed.

"So are you planning on packing your whole room or something?" he complained, leaning back against the railing of her bed as he eyed the heap of clothes on the floor that she was picking through. With a frown, Kiki pouted.

"I'm not packing my whole room. Just…most of it."

At that Howl laughed even louder before saying, "I don't think you're doing a very good job of it. After all…underwear goes there," and he flicked his finger at a pile of clothes, shifting them into her suitcase. Kiki, mortified at his actions, grabbed at the clothing as it sailed past her and clutched it to her chest.

"Howl, stop messing with my packing!"

"What packing? This is just a big mess!"

The two glared at each other before Kiki sighed in defeat and said, "Alright, I might need a LITTLE help getting everything together…"

With a satisfied smirk at having won, Howl sat back and began to order random items to pack themselves in Kiki's suitcase, while she leapt up on her window sill and watched as things flew around her room.

As everything magically packed itself, Kiki crossed her arms and asked, "Do you EVER do things the normal way? I mean honestly Howl, you can't go around using magic for everything…"

Her friend just laughed as he kicked some more clothes off her bed to make room for his long legs, smirking even more widely at her as he did so.

"I can use magic for anything and everything I want. It's easier that way. And you'd be able to do it too…but you can't even fly properly..."

"Oh, shut up!"

Howl fell silent, but winked at his friend nonetheless which finally got a smile out of her. He was about to say something else when Kiki's mother opened the bedroom door, gasping in surprise as she nearly was hit by flying objects.

"Wha-? Kiki!" Her mother said in a stern voice, putting her hands on her hips as her daughter jumped to her feet and gave her mom a winning smile.

"Uh…hey Mom," Kiki greeted her with a half-hearted wave, shrinking back when her mother just gave a sigh and shook her head.

"Do you two mind explaining to me what…all this," she gestured around the room with her hands, "is?"

Howl rose from the bed and gave Kiki's mom a charming smile, bowing slightly as he said, "Good afternoon, ma'am. Just came by to help Kiki with her packing."

Kiki's mom just sighed again and gave Howl a knowing look. "Howell Jenkins, I know that you are a good friend to Kiki but you really shouldn't be doing all of HER work!"

Howl shrugged a bit before walking over to Kiki and slinging his arm around her shoulder, his playboy grin spread across his face. As he ruffled Kiki's hair fondly, he said, "It's no problem at all…I have too much fun helping her sometimes."

Kiki just rolled her eyes before pushing him off with a laugh, turning to her mom and saying, "He's not staying for dinner."

"Um, yes I am!" Howl said, pouting as he crossed his arms and gave Kiki puppy dog eyes. "I'm helping you with your packing remember?"

"Wait…the packing! Howl!"

The three turned to see that Kiki's suitcase was nearly about to explode as the last of her room was shoved magically into her tiny suitcase. As the case trembled and the locks began to snap and pop Kiki's mom took a step back through the doorway, using the door as a barrier while Howl grabbed Kiki and turned his back to the suitcase, shielding his friend. With a loud snap, Kiki's suitcase burst open and everything from her room came pouring out, falling all over the place back into the mess that it had been before Howl had entered. When the last of the items had fallen to the ground (an alarm clock nearly landing on Jiji, who had just re-entered the room) Howl let go of Kiki and the two turned to survey the mess.

Kiki's mom peeked out from behind the door, groaning when she saw the mess before shaking her head and walking off, muttering to herself about rest. As her mom disappeared down the hallway, Kiki gaped at her room before crying, "It's even messier than it was before you started all that magic…stuff! Howl!"

Sheepishly, Howl gave her a grin as he said, "Well…now you can do the work yourself like your mom asked?"

With a growl, Kiki shook her finger at her best friend, scolding him as she lamented, "Now I'm NEVER going to get it done in time!"

At her expression, Howl tried hard not to laugh but as she continued to berate him and complain he couldn't help it, and finally he burst out laughing. While she stared at him, he gasped out, "You're…ridiculous! Lecturing me…for making a mess…of what was already a mess to begin with!"

The more Howl laughed, the more Kiki smiled, until she too was laughing as loudly as he was. After a good bout of laughter, the two settled down and flopped on the floor, kicking things aside as they gasped for air. Kiki was the first to recover, holding out her hand to Howl as she smiled and said, "Want to stay for dinner?"

He grinned back, taking her hand and saying, "You know I wouldn't miss a chance to get some good food."


	2. Rule 2

_**Rule number two-Best friends keep you from doing stupid things…by yourself**_

"Uh…Howl…" Kiki began, looking nervously around the dark area before scooting closer to her friend. "I don't think this is such a good idea…"

Howl snorted quietly, edging closer to the dark cottage as he reached down his shirt to reveal a large brass key hanging around his neck.

"The alarms won't go off if I have the key, now will they?" he said, dangling the key in front of Kiki's worried face.

She swiped the object away before crossing her arms and whispering fiercely, "Sneaking into your teacher's laboratory and taking some of their magic items is no way to become a good wizard, Howl!"

Howl scoffed at her before creeping closer to the house, carefully dismantling the protective spell that had been cast on the door. As he put his hand on the doorknob, he turned back to Kiki and stuck his tongue out at her, "Seriously, you're such a worrywart. The old man hasn't put up a spell that I can't get past yet."

While Howl strode in confidently, Kiki cowered behind him until he flicked the lights on and she let go of the back of his shirt, her eyes filled with curiosity as they took in the mysterious room. Potions of all colors lined the tables and shelves, and books lay in disarray around the room while the light reflected from various, strange looking items. At the back of the room were cages, and Kiki gazed in wonder at the strange creatures that inhabited the metal boxes, giggling at one that appeared to be nothing more than a giant furball.

"Hey Howl," she called in a whisper, "What's this?"

From where he was shifting through some books, Howl looked over and replied, "That? The geezer calls it a 'dust bunny'."

Kiki laughed before saying, "I don't know, I didn't think dust bunnies were supposed to be this cute?"

Howl rifled through a few pages of a rather old, dusty book before ripping out some pages and shoving them in his pockets carelessly. He shrugged as he threw the book over his shoulder, picking up another one as he said, "It's cute but it's just a regular bunny that's had magic done on it. Its fur is supposed to pick up dust when the bunny runs around, but I don't think he's got the spell right just yet, since it looks like that."

His friend laughed before smiling at the funny looking creature fondly as she said, "Well I think it's adorable, whether it works or not." At the sound of more ripping pages, Kiki looked over curiously before asking, "Why did we sneak in here anyways?"

Triumphantly, Howl waved some pages at her as he said in a haughty tone, "I came here to steal some spells. That way, the next time my teacher tries to show me up I'll be the one who casts the best spell!"

Kiki just shook her head, rolling her eyes as she turned back to watch the furry creature. Howl hated being shown up more than anything, to the point where he even let go of his cowardice to try and show off. It was how he'd always been, and Kiki knew that when he started studying magic that he wouldn't make an exception.

With a sigh, she stood up and walked towards him, saying, "We should get going now before something happens and we get caught."

"Yeah, okay," Howl agreed, "Just let me get something from this book-"

As soon as Howl's fingers grazed the covers of the elegant, dark blue book he sensed something was wrong. In an instant, his hand left the book and went to Kiki's waist, where he grabbed her before running towards the door.

"Howl?" Kiki asked, panicking as she was carried through the door and across the lawn while Howl sprinted as if his life depended on it.

"Damn old man!" Howl cursed under his breath, as the whole of the cabin began to glow a bright red, pulsating through the dark as it shone through the forest and illuminated all of its surroundings. Throwing Kiki into the bushes, Howl scrambled up the nearest tree in an undignified manner while his sharp blue eyes scouted the area until they found what they were looking for.

From her seat on the ground, Kiki complained, "Ow, what was that for?"

"SHHH!" Howl hissed from the tree, "Be quiet! I don't want him knowing it was me!"

Kiki fell silent, but shivered suddenly as she felt the presence of a wizard nearby. It was very different to the feeling she got around Howl; rather than making her feel at ease, the aura which she sensed was one of intensity, causing her entire body to shake as she felt the power that seeped from the nearby wizard.

Up in the tree, Howl muttered under his breath, "Show off," as a figure in the distance stepped towards the glowing red house and held a hand up. In an instant, the house fell dark again before the figure went inside. Quickly, Howl jumped down from the tree and grabbed Kiki's hand, saying low, "If we're going to run, now's the time for it."

"What!? Howl!" Kiki cried as she was all but dragged through the woods by her friend.

* * *

The next morning, Kiki was idling on the grass when a gaggle of girls from the village stopped by, all of them giggling at something. When they saw Kiki, they called out to her and waved, and she waved back before getting up and trotting over to the fence.

"What are you up to?" she asked curiously, and the girls all giggled again before one of them turned to her and said, "That best friend of yours just got punished for sneaking into his master's laboratory last night!"

Kiki leaned on the fence, her eyes widening as she said, "Really? What punishment did he get, Mel?"

Mel smiled and said, "Rumor has it that he's being forced to wear a dress or something while he works for the old wizard…Mr. Crowe says that it'll make him feel ashamed for what he did!"

A smirk fell on Kiki's face before she opened the fence and ran past the girls, yelling, "I have to go see this for myself!"

Being a witch had many advantages, one of which was that Kiki wasn't scared at all as she walked up to Wizard Crowe's cabin and knocked confidently on the door. When the old wizard opened it, he stared around grumpily until he looked down and saw Kiki. With a smile, he welcomed her in.

"Ah, Miss Kiki! It's been awhile since you last visited me. How is your mother?" the old wizard asked, happy as ever to see the young witch. Kiki curtsied and replied, "My mother is just fine, thank you! I've come to see how Howl's been getting along in his studies."

The wizard smiled at her, patting her head as he said, "He's coming along fine-but that boy is by far the vainest young wizard I have ever taken in as an apprentice! Did you know, he came in here last night and ripped spells out of my precious collection?"

Kiki was about to reply when Howl came in, a bucket in his hands. As soon as he saw Kiki, he turned bright red before dropping the empty bucket and stuttering, "K-k-k-Kiki! Wh-what are you doing here?" Remembering what he was wearing, he covered his face and cried, "Don't look at meeeee!"

His friend clapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing, knowing that if she let out even one giggle in front of the old wizard it would humiliate her friend even further. Turning to the wizard, Kiki asked sweetly, "May I borrow Howl for a bit?"

Wizard Crowe patted her once more on the head, saying, "Of course you may; it is time for his break after all. Run along then!"

Obligingly, Kiki grabbed Howl's arm and pulled him out of the cabin. She made it halfway through the woods before she collapsed in a fit of giggles, which caused Howl to pout even more as he crossed his arms and sulked, "It's not funny!"

Kiki looked up from the ground, taking in the baby blue dress with the high rise collar. Her eyes roamed over the lace frills at the bottom, before taking in the matching shoes and frilly apron. Unable to stand it any longer she started laughing again before she finally calmed down, leaning against Howl as he had sat down next to her.

"It's not so bad," Kiki said, much to her friend's chagrin.

"Not so bad? Kiki, I'm wearing a DRESS."

"Yeah, but it's a cute dress and it looks good on you, Howl. You look good in everything." Kiki smiled to herself as she watched her friend fall silent before he grinned a little then bragged, "Well, I guess that I'm so good looking I can make even a dress like THIS look good. But that old man still has no right to harass me like this!"

She laughed one last time before standing up and brushing her skirt off, offering her hand to her friend as she said gently, "Let's go back. I'll tell him that I was there with you, so he can split the punishment with me."

Howl looked up at her before smiling back and taking her hand, allowing him to pull him to his feet as he replied, "Thanks, Kiki."

"Anything for my best friend!" she grinned back. "After all, you'll be there when I do something stupid too, right?"


	3. Rule 3

**Rule three-Best Friends are there to encourage you…even after they've laughed at your mistakes**

Creeping up the hill slowly, Howl held in a snicker as he stood up, his shadow covering his best friend's sleeping figure. Kiki, for her part, dozed happily in the grass and turned over with a little murmur. This only intensified Howl's grin before he took in a deep breath. Then, with all his might, he yelled, "HEY KIKI!"

As Kiki jumped a foot in the air, screaming in panic, Howl laughed raucously and rolled around in the grass holding his sides. Kiki panted, gasping for breath as she held a hand to her chest and she shot a look at her best friend, who was still laughing as if he hadn't just given her a heart attack.

"What was that for?" Kiki complained, smacking Howl on the arm as hard as she could in retaliation for his violent wake-up. Rather than wincing in pain like Kiki had hoped, Howl hopped to his feet and wiped the last of the tears from his eyes. Calming down after laughing so hard, he offered her a hand with a grin, saying, "I came to get you for your flying practice. Come on, sleepyhead, let's go!"

Kiki sighed and shook her head before getting up and stretching, swatting away Howl's hand as she stuck a tongue out at him and turned on her heel. As she strode off purposefully, Howl caught up to her with ease, slinging an arm around her shoulder as he walked casually next to her.

"I wonder how many trees you'll crash into today," Howl speculated, and Kiki frowned before complaining, "If you're going to be so mean about it you might as well not come to watch me practice at all!"

"Not watch you practice? No way! How ELSE am I going to get a break from all those chores that the old geezer keeps giving me?"

"Howl, those aren't chores they're part of your apprenticeship. If you ever want to be a good wizard you should listen to him more and take your lessons seriously."

Howl rolled his eyes as the two friends approached the house. Jogging a little ahead, he leapt up easily onto the fence and walked the length of it as he said, "It's all work and no fun. He never even lets me cast any spells, and I KNOW that my magic's just as good as his by now if not better."

With a shake of her head, Kiki just watched her conceited friend before going over to the fence and walking into her mother's greenhouse. Howl followed behind, whistling while he bounced from foot to foot down the path. At the door of the greenhouse, Kiki's mother was waiting with the old broomstick, and with a smile she handed it to her daughter.

"Kiki, fly carefully now okay? Make sure you go slowly and take care not to stray beyond the village," her mother fretted. Kiki just smiled at her mom, untying her apron and handing it to her as she replied cheerfully, "I won't leave the village, Mom, I promise! Besides, Howl will be with me so it'll be okay."

Her mother took Kiki's apron, shaking her head and sighing as she smiled at Howl.

"I didn't know you could fly, Howl."

Howl shrugged, before saying with a cheeky grin, "I can do a hovering spell, if that's what you're asking ma'am. Besides, if Kiki can actually get off the ground this time maybe I can use-"

"Bye Mom gotta go!" Kiki said sweetly, interrupting Howl as she grabbed his arm and yanked him away from her mother. Running away with Howl in tow, the young witch closed her eyes and prayed with all her might that she would be able to finally get the broom working.

Once the two were far from the house, Kiki let go of Howl and gave him a look. With a loud sigh, she complained, "I told you not to let my mom know that I'm having trouble with this. The LAST thing I need is for her to start lecturing me even more about it, especially since I only have a year before I have to go."

Howl just shrugged before sliding down to lay in the grass. With a sigh himself, he told Kiki, "Just start practice already. We don't have all day you know."

His friend made a face before throwing her leg of the broomstick and gripping the handle tightly, as if she was afraid of falling off despite the fact that she was still firmly on the ground. With her eyes shut tight, she scrunched her nose up in concentration as she struggled to put in all her energy into getting the broom off the ground.

The bristles at the bottom of the broom stiffened for a second, and Kiki's skirt began to fly around her as her feet left the ground. Howl sat up at this, watching intently as Kiki hovered a few inches off the ground, her eyes still firmly shut tight. Just when Howl thought she'd finally gotten the hang of it and was about to really take off, Kiki opened one eye cautiously. In that instant she lost her concentration and was sent crashing to the ground. As she tumbled down the hill, broomstick and all, Howl leapt to his feet and watched her roll with a low whistle.

At the bottom, Kiki finally rolled to a stop and as she lay on the ground groaning, Howl slid down the hill to join her. Laughing good-naturedly, Howl jibed his friend, "I got a nice view of what was under your skirt there…good thing you wear shorts!" When Kiki didn't laugh, Howl's expression softened and he knelt down next to her, throwing an arm around her shoulder comfortingly.

"Hey now," he said in a serious voice, "You're doing a lot better than you were before. Don't give up now when you're on the verge of getting it."

Kiki turned to look at him, reluctance and doubt on her features as she replied weakly, "But Howl, I can't even hover for longer than a few minutes…"

With an almost motherly look, Howl pulled a face that had Kiki smiling as he stood up and offered her his hand. "Oh come on," he said cheerfully as he pulled her to her feet and grabbed the broom, "stop moping and start flying!"

Feeling somewhat better, Kiki climbed back to the top of the hill with her friend before exchanging a nod with him as she threw her leg over the broomstick once more. Clenching her teeth in concentration, she kept her eyes open this time and scrunched up her nose once more. When the broom rose again, Howl crossed his fingers and held his breath, before it rose even higher and jerked forward.

As the broom bucked forward, throwing Kiki off, Howl gave a whoop as he ran and caught his friend. She landed on him with a thud, the broomstick landing nearby as the two sat up and shook their heads to get their bearings. Kiki sighed before smiling as Howl punched her on the shoulder and said, "Not bad, not bad. Now that you can get off the ground, let's work on your control, okay?"


	4. Rule 4

_**Rule Number Four-A best friend is always on your side, even when you're in the wrong**_

Howl lazily stared at the sky, biting his lip while he traced patterns in the air with his finger. As he struggled to remember the spell which he was trying to attempt, he frowned before rolling over and burying his face in the sweet smelling grass. Laying there, he inhaled deeply and was ready to give up and just take a nap when he heard someone yelling his name from the bottom of the hill.

"Howl! HOWL!"

Noting that it was a guy's voice, and therefore not Kiki, Howl reasoned he had no obligation to get up and face whoever it was that was calling him. The voice grew louder as the person climbed up the hill, until it was so loud that Howl knew they were standing over him.

"Howl, come on," the boy whined, "You never want to hang out with me."

At that, Howl turned his face slowly to the side and he stared up at the boy with an unimpressed look on his face. Pushing himself up to a sitting position, Howl shook the grass out of his jet black hair and then stretched casually before finally saying, "Well no, not really. I mean, it isn't as if you guys can do magic and you don't understand it either so we don't have much in common, Michael."

Michael laughed at that, sitting down next to the wizard as he elbowed him and said, "We have more in common than you think, Howl Jenkins."

"Oh really?"

"Really. After all, you like girls. I like girls. I'd say that's a pretty big thing right there."

At Michael's statement, Howl smirked and ran a hand through his hair. It was true that he was fond of the girls who ran around town, although he had yet to make a move on any of them. Half of it was the fact that he knew Kiki would be furious if he broke someone's heart, yet the other half of him wanted to see what would happen.

Looking Michael in the eye, Howl said, "Well yeah, but you didn't really come here to ask me to hang out did you?"

Rubbing his head in a slightly ashamed manner, Michael laughed, "So you saw right through me, huh?"

Howl smirked again, replying, "It honestly was obvious from the start. We're friends and all, but whenever you come asking me to hang out it usually means you want a spell. Or it means you want me to set up some sort of thing where you'll get to see Kiki."

The boy shrugged before leaning forward and saying, "Look, Howl. It's like this; I want you to give me a spell that will make me invincible. That way, when I challenge the biggest guy in the school I'll be able to knock him down, and that'll make me the one that everyone looks up to."

Staring at Michael questioningly, Howl asked, "Why is this suddenly so important to you? I mean, Davie Robinson hasn't bothered you up to now, so why the sudden desire to be king of the school?"

With a grin, Michael said sheepishly, "Well, it's actually about this girl…Victoria was talking about how she really admires strong guys. And I heard her say that anyone who could beat Davie would be someone she'd be more than sweet on."

Howl laughed at this, grinning as he replied, "What a dumb reason to want a spell! Although, I guess I should just be glad you're not after Kiki anymore; she's my best friend, I'm not giving her up to anyone!"

Wringing his hands, Michael begged, "Come on Howl, just do this for me! Look, if you do this for me then I'll give you free lunch at the inn for the rest of the year. I'll even give you one today!"

For a second Howl contemplated that. It was true that while Howl despised the food that Wizard Crowe gave him, he was extremely fond of the food served at the inn. All the same, Howl wasn't really sure he wanted to waste that kind of time creating such a pointless spell, not to mention the fact that Howl didn't like how Michael only wanted to be friends when he needed something.

Deciding to play a little trick on Michael as way of revenge, Howl smiled and said, "Alright, Michael. How about that lunch then?"

* * *

Kiki and Howl were walking to the school together, the two of them arguing about the benefits of potions over spells when a two guys ran past yelling at them, "Hurry up! I heard something's going on in the schoolyard!"

Looking at Howl curiously, Kiki asked, "I wonder what it could be?" Howl, trying his hardest not to let on that he knew what was happening, shrugged and looked away. With a frown, Kiki grabbed his wrist and pulled him along, exclaiming, "Well don't just stand there, come on let's go find out what it is!"

When the two got to the schoolyard everyone else was already lined around the two boys in a circle, ringing them in. Kiki squinted, before gasping, "Isn't that Michael!"

She was right; the boy stood confidently despite the fact that his opponent towered over him by a good foot or so. Michael caught sight of Kiki and Howl and winked one eye at them before swaggering up to the bigger boy and issuing a challenge in a loud voice.

"I bet you can't beat me in a fight," Michael teased the older boy, who grunted and began to crack his knuckles. For a second Howl debated telling Michael that he the spell he'd given him was completely pointless, but found he was unable to as Michael was sent flying three feet when the older boy punched him.

Wincing and gritting his teeth, Michael held his side and he muttered, "What the hell?" In a second, he seemed to realize it was Howl's fault, and the boy looked over at the wizard with a glare before being hit again by his opponent. Everyone surrounding the fight winced and made sounds of pity as Michael was beaten soundly by Davie Robinson. Fifteen minutes into the fight, Davie seemed to grow bored with the whole affair and let go of Michael, walking off as everyone flocked after him and left Michael in the dust.

Kiki, Howl, and a few other kids of the class all ran to where Michael sat groaning on the ground. Worriedly, Kiki knelt down and put a hand gently on Michael's head before reprimanding him with a, "What was that for!? You know better than anyone not to challenge Davie, he's the biggest kid in the school! How did you think you could win?"

At Kiki's question, Michael spit to the side and wiped an arm over his face before weakly getting to his feet and pointing accusingly at Howl. With a cough, Michael yelled, "You tricked me! That stupid spell you gave me was completely useless!"

Howl, feigning innocence, glared back indignantly.

"Me?" He said in what sounded like an outraged voice to everyone but Kiki, "I don't know what you're talking about. I held up my end of the bargain; I gave you a spell didn't I?" Howl smirked inwardly when he saw that everyone was buying his performance until he caught Kiki's eye. She looked outraged, and for a second he thought that she would call him out on his acting.

Instead, Kiki just sighed loudly and shook her head.

"Michael," she said gently, "You know you can't blame Howl for this. If he really gave you a spell, then he DID hold up his end of the bargain."

Raging, Michael growled, "He was SUPPOSED to give me a spell to make me invincible!"

Kiki grabbed Michael by the shoulders and said sternly, "Look, it's not Howl's fault. If anything, it's yours for trying to win a fight unfairly. I'm sure Howl gave you the best he could; you forget that he's still training and learning spells. Howl didn't purposely sabotage you-you expected too much from a wizard in training."

Howl watched as Michael seemed to deflate, before the innkeeper's son nodded and came up to Howl apologetically. Reaching out a hand to shake Howl's, Michael said, "I'm sorry, Howl. I shouldn't have asked you to do something ridiculous and then gotten angry when you couldn't really do it. And I shouldn't have tried to win a fight relying on anything but myself."

Shaking the boy's hand, Howl forgave him and as Michael was towed off by the rest of the group towards his house for clean-up the young wizard felt a sense of satisfaction at his trick. That satisfaction instantly evaporated as soon as Kiki grabbed his ear and muttered, "Come with me."

"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-OW! Kiki STOPPIT!" Howl whined, pawing at his ear as he tried to shake his friend off. The young witch was having none of it though. As soon as the two of them were in a secluded area, she chastised her friend thoroughly.

"HOWL JENKINS!" Kiki cried, "You can do invincibility spells perfectly well, so why did you give Michael something so faulty? Furthermore, why did you even agree to give him a spell in the first place? If I didn't cover for you, you would have been exposed as a fraud and no one in the village would ever trust you with spells again, and then you wouldn't be able to make any money by selling simple spells to others. Wizard Crowe probably would have found out too! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Instead of acting ashamed, Howl grabbed Kiki in a tight hug and said, "Thank you, Kiki! I know I did something stupid and irrational, but it won't happen again I promise!"

"Won't happen again?" Kiki muttered darkly. "That'll be the day."

When she looked up though and saw her friend's beaming face, Kiki couldn't help but smile too as she hugged him back. She knew that this wouldn't be the last time she covered for him.


	5. Rule 5

_**Rule Number Five-A Best Friend knows you better than you know yourself**_

He'd noticed it for awhile now. Lately, Kiki had seemed more and more fidgety, although Howl couldn't figure out why. She was clumsier than usual, knocking off pots from the windowsill when she was supposed to be watering them. She was distracted too, constantly dazing off in class and being scolded by the teacher.

Normally, this sort of thing wouldn't bother Howl much but as it had been about a week now he was beginning to worry that something was seriously wrong with his friend. Just as he was getting ready to ask her what was wrong, he overheard a conversation between two of the girls in town.

"The party tomorrow will be SO much fun!" Mel exclaimed to the blond on her right, who laughed before linking arms with her. As the two girls walked past Howl with waves, he waved back before casually walking behind them, looking his best to not be eavesdropping.

"Oh won't it be though? To think, in two days your sister will be married! Mel, your sister's bachelorette party will be the first one in such a long time, and we're all so excited!" the other girl answered in reply of Mel's earlier statement. "I wonder if Kiki will come…"

Mel shook her head, looking slyly over her shoulder at Howl before whispering, "I doubt that. After all, tomorrow is Howl's birthday and the two always celebrate together. It's ridiculous to even dream that she'd come-she wouldn't leave him to celebrate on his own. And goodness knows that boys aren't invited to the party…"

Howl stopped walking and slipped behind the nearest tree, a frown on his face as he thought carefully about what he'd just heard. Parties were often a big deal in the town, as there weren't too many of them because there weren't very many festive occasions. Bachelorette parties were even rarer, as were bachelor parties. People didn't get married every day.

While Howl mulled over everything to himself, Kiki walked past and looked at him before prodding him roughly with her finger.

"There you are!" she cried, "I've been looking for you everywhere! You left the schoolyard without me, Howl." Kiki crossed her arms and tapped her foot at her friend, which got him to smile as he tugged at the ribbon in her hair affectionately.

"If you'd been paying attention you would've followed," he teased, laughing when Kiki swiped his hand away and rolled her eyes. After her dramatic antics were over, she smiled before linking arms with him and saying, "Come on then, we should go into town today and get the stuff for your party tomorrow."

Howl grinned, allowing her to tug him along while she talked about the things they'd need to buy for his party. The two usually celebrated alone, as Howl didn't have very many other friends that were guys who would want to come, and as most of the girls in town would only come to giggle at his good looks. The two friends had always had a good time together, but as they approached the town Howl grew worried again when Kiki stared off towards Mel's house.

The feeling of despair sank further into Howl's stomach as she dazed off when they were buying ingredients for the cake, and it sank still further when they walked out of the store and forgot the balloons. At the edge of town, Howl knew what he had to do, despite the fact that he loathed the very idea of it.

"Kiki," he began, clearing his throat to catch her attention from where she was staring as a group of girls went by, all talking about their new ribbons, "Kiki, I heard that Mel's sister is having a party tomorrow…"

"Yeah?" Kiki said, feigning ignorance of the party. Howl frowned before continuing, "Well I was just thinking…this year for my birthday I was going to do something on my own. I mean, there's this really cool spell book that Wizard Crowe said he'd lend me since it's my birthday and all and I'll want to spend a lot of time working on it…"

At Howl's words, Kiki brought her full attention to him, her jaw open as she gaped. She shook her head quickly then, and complained, "But Howl, we always spend your birthday together…"

"I know. But we always do the same thing every year, it gets kind of boring after awhile. Why don't you go to that party tomorrow instead of hanging out with me?"

"Howl, I couldn't just leave you on your birthday-"

"Kiki, I TOLD you. I'd like to be alone tomorrow to work on stuff. Just go have fun and tell me about everything tomorrow at the wedding reception." Howl looked down at his friend's stunned face before quickly saying, "Well, I'll see you around then, bye!" Running off, Howl turned his back to his friend to hide his hurt expression.

* * *

The next day dawned miserably for Howl.

There was no good morning greeting from Kiki (who would usually attack him in the morning with a 'happy birthday') and there was no birthday breakfast waiting for him at the table. Howl sat down, not feeling hungry at all before he slumped his head on the table and sat quite still.

After a few hours, Howl supposed the party was in full swing. He was dying to go and check on it and make sure that Kiki was at least having fun, but the thought was so lonely that he couldn't bring himself to do so. It wasn't like he couldn't have invited some of the boys to his party, as the groom to be wasn't holding any celebration, but Howl had always felt that if he was going to have a birthday it would either be with Kiki or be with no one else.

By the time the afternoon rolled around, Howl had done absolutely nothing all day, not even having moved from his spot at the table to make himself breakfast or lunch. Just as he was reaching the pinnacle of despair, the door crashed open and his head jerked up.

In the doorway stood Kiki, grinning as she held a basket in one arm and a cake in her other. Behind her, outside, Howl could see a few packages that looked suspiciously like presents. Jumping up happily, Howl danced over to her saying, "Kiki! Kiki!" before suddenly remembering that she was supposed to be at the party.

Crossing his arms and sulking, he retreated back to the chair and glared at her, scolding, "What are you doing here!? I told you to go to that party!"

At his cross words, Kiki frowned before coming over and setting down everything. Once her hands were free, she lightly smacked her friend on the arm before saying, "Idiot! And leave you alone? It's your birthday, I KNOW you want to spend it with me! I'm sorry I took so long today, it's just that yesterday I was so shocked by your words that ended up messing up the cake when I was baking it. The store was closed that afternoon so I had to go back this morning to get everything, but I tried my best to come as quickly as I could."

Howl didn't reply, just curling his knees to his chest as he said quietly, "Well…I thought you really wanted to go to that party. I mean, anyone could tell because you kept spacing out and staring at Mel's house, and-"

"Stupid! It's not every day you turn sixteen, do you really think that I'd abandon my best friend on his birthday just because he told me to? Howl, I know you-and I know for a fact that you probably spent most of today moping because you didn't think that I'd be coming to celebrate with."

While Howl grumbled something half-heartedly about 'friends' Kiki leaned down and gave him a kiss on the cheek, saying, "Happy Birthday, Howl Jenkins. You're stuck with me, whether you like it or not!"


	6. Rule 6

**_Rule number six- A Best Friend will always take care of you_ **

Sniffling miserably, Kiki rolled over and groaned. She hadn't felt this terrible since the cold she'd gotten last winter, and as her head pounded and her vision swam she mumbled complaints under her breath before pulling the covers around herself tighter.

Swimming in the lake so early into the spring probably hadn't been the best idea, but at the time Howl had reassured her that the two of them would be fine and wouldn't get sick. As Kiki waved her hands around half-heartedly, she caught her pet's attention. Looking the young witch over, Jiji said rather snottily, "Well if you ask me you shouldn't have listened to Howl. Just look at what's happened now."

Too sick to defend her friend, Kiki rolled an eye at her cat before moaning, "Jiji…."

"Alright, alright," the little black cat said in an annoyed voice before leaping off the bed and prancing towards the windowsill. As he leapt up onto the sill, he called over his shoulder, "I'll go get him, and as soon as you're better you owe me for this!"

Kiki just moaned in reply, to which Jiji gave a little switch of his tail before disappearing from her window. Not long after, her mother walked in and frowned. Walking up to the bedside, Kiki's mom looked down before placing a hand on her daughter's forehead. At the hot, feverish temperature she felt, Kiki's mom looked down at her daughter before turning around to heading down the stairs to make some soup.

Her mom hadn't gotten more than five steps down the stairs before the front door burst open and a wild-eyed Howl ran in.

"Kiki's sick?!" he panicked, and the old witch smiled before nodding up the stairs at her daughter's bedroom.

"Go keep her company while I make her something to eat," Kiki's mom instructed, to which Howl obeyed promptly by leaping over the staircase and disappearing up the stairs, bounding up two at a time. Kiki's mother just shook her head again before walking off to the kitchen again.

Upstairs Kiki's door burst open with a blast of wind as Howl ran in and stood at the edge of his friend's bed. Practically yelling, Howl said frantically, "Kiki? Kiki?!"

With a groan, Kiki rolled over and glared at her best friend. Frowning, she held her head in her hands as she muttered, "Will you shut up? You're not making my head any better with that racket!"

At her attitude, Howl's shoulders slumped in a sort of relief. He knew that if Kiki could talk to him like that she was just fine. Clenching his hands into fists, Howl made a mental note to get back at Jiji for feeding him a ridiculous story about how sick Kiki really was. Summoning her desk chair over to the bedside, Howl sat down easily and leaned in a little to feel his friend's forehead. At the temperature, he asked, "Aren't you burning up?"

"Mmmmm."

"Are you cold?"

"Hrnnnnn."

"Kiki, are you hungry?"

Finally, the young witch sat up and really glared at her friend before exclaiming, "Howl, I'm fine! It's just a cold." As she slowly lay back down in bed, Howl flicked his hand at the pillow, cooling it for her. Kiki snuggled a little more into her pillow, smiling before saying softly, "Thanks, Howl."

"Not a problem. Want me to feed you later when you're mom brings the soup up?"

Kiki turned her face a little to grin at her friend before joking, "Nah. Last time you tried that you got more soup on the floor than in my mouth, remember?"

Howl pouted before saying, "It'll be different this time…Besides, you're always taking care of me, so times like these are the only times I can ever take care of you."

Kiki just smiled before allowing Howl to take her hand. She felt his hand squeeze hers, and instantly a cool sensation seemed to fall on her sweaty skin. Her head already lolling to the side as she fell asleep, the last thing Kiki remembered was Howl's hand slipping out of hers and his voice saying something distantly.

* * *

When Kiki woke later, Howl was still sitting by her bedside, keeping the soup warm for her. At the sight of his friend up, he brightened before tying his long hair back with a bandanna and scooping up a generous helping of soup from the pot into a bowl nearby. With a flick of his finger, he kept the spoon stirring the soup and he scooted closer with the bowl.

"Ready to eat something?" he asked cheerfully, and Kiki grinned before tugging at the bandanna.

"New fashion statement?" she teased, and Howl turned red a little before protesting, "I just don't want my hair to get in the way, that's all. Now are you going to eat or not?"

"Yes mother, I'll eat, "Kiki laughed before taking the bowl carefully from her friend. As she ate it, she began to feel even better than she had before and she looked curiously at the soup. Wondering aloud, she said, "Did my mom put one of her potions into this?"

At this, Howl gave a secretive smile before leaning in a whispering, "She did, but I made it even better!"

Instantly, Kiki was a little on guard as she asked, "…what did you do?"

Howl just winked, and Kiki looked back down into the bowl before deciding that it couldn't have been that bad or she would've already thrown up by now. Spooning in more soup, she polished off her first bowl quickly and was well on her way into the second bowl when Howl finally fessed, "I might have added a little bit of a potion to it myself."

"Really? What you put in here?"

"Well Wizard Crowe had this new stuff…it's like what your mom usually makes except he did something to it to give it a little bang. I sniffed it and it seemed okay so I put just a drop in."

Kiki growled, "What am I, a guinea pig?"

Howl laughed before patting her on the head fondly and saying, "He wouldn't have let me take a sample if it wasn't safe. I wouldn't swipe potions, you never know what could go wrong if you don't do them properly. That's why spells are so much easier, you don't have to be completely exact to do it correctly."

"You're just lazy," Kiki pointed out.

"Yeah, that too," Howl agreed, before taking the bowl from her hands. "Are you going to sleep again?"

Kiki smiled before settling down again and asking, "Could you cool my pillow for me again?"

Howl just smiled before Kiki felt the same sensation as before spread across the fabric, and she gave a contented sigh before falling asleep once more.

* * *

When Kiki woke up again, it was the middle of the night. As she stretched, she felt so good that she cast her covers off, ready to get up and walk around and stretch her legs out. She was so eager to get up that she failed to notice Howl's sleeping figure by her bed, and accordingly she smacked into him sending him tumbling off the chair he'd been asleep in.

"Kiki?" Howl's voice whispered from the dark. "What's wrong? Did you need to go to the bathroom or something?"

"What? No, I'm better! I just wanted to stretch. Besides, what are you doing here anyways?"

Howl grinned, as Kiki shook her head with a smile of her own. The young witch was sure that her mom had kicked her friend out earlier but he'd probably snuck in her room through the window to sit with her all night while she slept.

Reaching out to give him a hand up, Kiki pulled Howl to his feet and the two grinned at each other as Kiki said, "Thanks for staying with me. You're a good friend."

Howl just smiled as modestly as he could before he grinned and said, "Well, since you're better now…"


End file.
